February 08, (THEWILL) – Manchester City scrapped through to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup following a narrow 2-1 victory against Leyton Orient, with Kevin De Bruyne delivering the decisive goal after entering the match from the substitute bench.
The match began with Orient taking an unexpected lead through Jamie Donley’s remarkable long-range strike in the 16th minute.
The attempt struck the crossbar before deflecting off Stefan Ortega for an own goal, sending the home supporters into celebration.
The first half continued with intensity, including a crucial goal-line clearance from Donley to deny Bernardo Silva, while Orient goalkeeper Josh Keeley demonstrated excellent reflexes to prevent Omar Marmoush from equalising.
City found their rhythm after the interval, drawing level in the 56th minute. Rico Lewis initiated the equaliser with a shot from outside the penalty area, which took a fortunate deflection off substitute Abdukodir Khusanov to beat Keeley.
The momentum shifted distinctly in City’s favour, with James McAtee striking the woodwork and Ilkay Gundogan forcing another impressive save from the Orient goalkeeper.
The English Premier League champions completed their comeback in the 79th minute when De Bruyne, who had been introduced from the bench, converted Jack Grealish’s precise pass to put City ahead.
Orient mounted a final challenge in the closing stages, with captain Dan Happe unable to direct his effort on target from Tom James’ free-kick delivery.
The result maintained City’s pursuit of multiple trophies in 2025, while Leyton Orient departed the competition with significant credit for their performance against the reigning top-flight champions.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
